Analyze characterization as delineated through a character’s thoughts, words, speech patterns, and actions; the narrator’s description; and the thoughts, words, and actions of other characters. Also included in this lesson: WI . 2 (p. 475), WI . 3 (p. 475), LLC . 4 (P. 475) brave to suffer in silence? KEY IDEA Whether from an injury or a broken heart, everyone suffers at times. Some people try hard to keep their pain to themselves, while others believe it is better to share their thoughts and feelings with others.
In “A Days Wait,” a young boy tries to e brave while suffering from an illness. QUICKER Do you consider it an act of bravery to face pain on your own, or does it take more courage for you to open up to other people? In a Journal entry, explain your answers to these questions. Literary analysis: style Style is a writer’s unique way of communicating ideas. It is often not only what writers say but how they say it that gives stories meaning and makes them memorable. To identify a writer’s style, focus on these elements: Word choice, or the author’s choice of language.
Hemingway strives to use vivid verbs and precise nouns rather than sing many adjectives and adverbs. Sentence structure and variety. In this story, Hemingway often uses long sentences for descriptions and short sentences when characters are talking. Dialogue, or conversations between characters. Hemingway relies heavily on realistic dialogue as a method of characterization. As you read “A Days Wait,” notice how these elements help create Hemingway unique writing style. An Adventurous Life Ernest Hemingway lived a life full of adventure.
He was one of a group of writers called the Lost Generation. These writers rejected what they saw Ernest Hemingway as an American 1899-1961 focus on acquiring many possessions. Along with being one of America’s most famous writers, Hemingway was a fisherman, a hunter, and a fan of bullfighting. He participated in both world wars. Many of his works are based on his experiences in Europe and Cuba. An Influential Style Hemingway and other Lost Generation writers, including F. Scott Fitzgerald and Sherwood Anderson, expressed their ideas in writing styles that were new and different.
Hemingway writing style, particularly his method of writing dialogue, has unintended many other writers. He is one tot the most oaten imitated writers tot the asses. Fact Becomes Fiction Like much of Hemingway writing, “A Days Wait” is based on actual events in Hemingway life. While Hemingway was living in France, his son came down with a high fever and reacted similarly to the boy in the story you will read. More about the author For more on Ernest Hemingway, visit the Literature Center at Classroom. Com. Reading skill: understand dialogue Characters reveal much about themselves by what they say or don’t say.
When reading dialogue, note that each speaker’s words are framed by quotes the line is indented when someone new is speaking As you read “A Days Wait,” keep track of who’s speaking by using a chart like the one shown. Line “What’s the matter, Chats? ” Speaker narrator vocabulary in context Each of the boldfaced terms reflects Hemingway word choice in “A Days Wait. ” How many of these words do you know? Try to figure out the meaning of each. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. People were there, but he felt detached from them. There is a serious flu epidemic this winter. He had slack muscles from lack of exercise.
It was evidently too much for him to deal with. The man observed a covey of partridges. A days wait 67 Ernest thymine g way 10 e came into the room to shut the windows while we were still in bed and I saw he looked ill. He was shivering, his face was white, and he walked slowly as though it ached to move. “What’s the matter, Chats? “l “Eve got a headache. ” Mimi better go back to bed. ” “No. I’m all right. ” Mimi go to bed. I’ll see you when I’m dressed. ” a But when I came downstairs he was dressed, sitting by the fire, looking a very sick and miserable boy of nine years.
When I put my hand on his forehead I knew he had a fever. Mimi go up to bed,” I said, “you’re sick. ” “I’m all right,” he said. When the doctor came he took the boys temperature. “What is it? ” I asked him. “One hundred and two. ” 1 . Chats (SSH¤TTS): German term of affection meaning “my treasure,” used here as a nickname. ANALYZE VISUALS Consider the expression on this boys face. What mood does it convey? Reread the dialogue in lines 4-8. Notice that Hemingway does not always tell the reader who is speaking. Use your chart to keep track of the different speakers. Nit 4: mood, tone, and style Contemplation (1930), Alice Kent Standard. Oil on canvas. 20 Downstairs, the doctor left three different medicines in differentiator capsules tit instructions for giving them. One was to bring down the fever, another a purgative,2 the third to overcome an acid condition. The germs of influenza can only exist in an acid condition, he explained. He seemed to know all about influenza and said there was nothing to worry about if the fever did not go above one hundred and four degrees. This was a light epidemic of flu and there was no danger if you avoided pneumonia.
Back in the room I wrote the boys temperature down and made a note of the time to give the various capsules. “Do you want me to read to you? ” “All right. If you want to,” said the boy. His face was very white and there were dark areas under his eyes. He lay still in the bed and seemed very detached from what was going on. I read aloud from Howard Pile’s Book of Pirates;3 but I could see he was not following what I was reading. “How do you feel, Chats? ” I asked him. “Just the same, so far,” he said. I sat at the foot of the bed and read to myself while I waited for it to be time to give another capsule.
It would have been natural for him to go to sleep, but when I looked up he was looking at the foot of the bed, looking very strangely. “Why don’t you try to go to sleep? I’ll wake you up for the medicine. “I’d rather stay awake. ” After a while he said to me, muff don’t have to stay in here with me, Papa, if it bothers you. ” b “It doesn’t bother me. ” “No, I mean you don’t have to stay if it’s going to bother you. ” c I thought perhaps he was a little lightheaded and after giving him the prescribed capsules at eleven o’clock I went out for a while. Epidemic (Deep-dumped) n. An outbreak of a disease that spreads quickly among many people detached (g-http) ad]. Separated; disconnected detach v. B Reread lines 41-42. Hemingway reveals the narrator through dialogue. What does this tell you about his style? C DIALOGUE Use your chart to track the speakers in the dialogue in lines 27-44. 50 t was a bright, cold day, the ground covered with a sleet that had frozen so that it seemed as if all the bare trees, the bushes, the cut brush, and all the grass and the bare ground had been varnished with ice.
I took the young Irish setter for a little walk up the road and along a frozen creek, but it was difficult to stand or walk on the glassy surface and the red dog slipped and slithered and I fell twice, hard, once dropping my gun and having it slide away over the ice. D d STYLE Do the words Hemingway uses to describe the setting convey a positive or negative atmosphere? Explain. 2. Purgative (pјRPG-tag): laxative. 3. Howard Pile’s Book of Pirates: a collection of tales about real and fictional pirates, very popular when it was published in the asses. 470 ANALYZE VISUALS How does this painting convey the passing of time?
We flushed a covey of quail under a high clay bank with overhanging brush and I killed two as they went out of sight over the top of the bank. Some of the covey lit in trees, but most of them scattered into brush piles and it was necessary to Jump on the ice-coated mounds of brush several times before they would flush. Coming out while you were poised unsteadily on the icy, springy brush, they made difficult shooting and I killed two, missed five, and started back pleased to have found a covey close to the house and happy there were so many left to find on another day. Covey ( PC) n. Small group or outlook tot birds, especially partridges or quail 471 70 t the house they said the boy had refused to let anyone come into the room. Mimi can’t come in,” he said. muff mustn’t get what I have. ” I went up to him and found him in exactly the position I had left him, white-faced, but with the tops of his cheeks lushes by the fever, staring still, as he had stared, at the foot of the bed. I took his temperature. “What is it? ” “Something like a hundred,” I said. It was one hundred and two and four tenths. “It was a hundred and two,” he said. “Who said so? ” “The doctor. ” mirror temperature is all right,” I said. It’s nothing to worry about. ” “l don’t worry,” he said, “but I can’t keep from thinking. ” “Don’t think,” I said. “Just take it easy. ” “I’m taking it easy,” he said and looked straight ahead. He was evidently holding tight onto himself about something. “Take this with water. ” “Do you think it will do any good? “Of course it will. ” I sat down and opened the Pirate book and commenced to read, but I could see he was not following, so I stopped. “About what time do you think I’m going to die? ” he asked. “What? ” “About how long will it be before I die? ” Mimi aren’t going to die. What’s the matter with you? “Oh, yes, I am. I heard him say a hundred and two. ” “People don’t die with a fever of one hundred and two. That’s a silly way to talk. ” “l know they do. At school in France the boys told me you can’t live with forty- four degrees. Eve got a hundred and two. ” He had been waiting to die all day, ever nice nine o’clock in the morning. Mimi poor Chats,” I said. “Poor old Chats. It’s like miles and kilometers. You aren’t going to die. That’s a different thermometer. On that thermometer thirty-seven is normal. On this kind it’s ninety-eight. ” “Are you sure? ” “Absolutely,” I said. It’s like miles and kilometers. You know, like how many kilometers we make when we do seventy miles in the car? ” “Oh,” he said. But his gaze at the foot of the bed relaxed slowly. The hold over himself relaxed too, finally, and the next day it was very slack and he cried very easily at little things that were of no importance. Evidently (Dip-dent-LLC) DVD. Obviously; clearly SCIENCE CONNECTION On the Celsius scale, water tresses at 00 and boils at 1000. On the Fahrenheit scale, water freezes at 320 and boils at 2120. Slack (slab) ad]. Not firm or tight; loose 472 After Reading Comprehension 1 .
Recall Why does the boy think he is going to die? 2. Clarify Why does the father spend the afternoon hunting instead of staying with his worried son? 3. Summarize How does the story end? RE. 3 Analyze characterization as delineated through a character’s thoughts, words, speech patterns, and actions; the narrator’s description; ND the thoughts, words, and actions of other characters. Literary Analysis 4. Understand Dialogue Look over the dialogue chart you created as you read. At which points do the father and son not seem to understand each other? 5. Analyze Characterization In what ways does the boy show concern for others?
Does he reveal his concern through thoughts, words, or actions? Do the narrator’s descriptions or other characters’ thoughts, words, and actions help you see the boys concern? Give examples from the text to support your answer. 6. Draw Conclusions Why does the boy cry so much the next day? 7. Make Judgments Do you think the boys actions show bravery? Why or why not? Support your answer with examples from the story. Use a diagram like the one shown to record your support. Use line numbers when referring to parts of the story. Boys Action What It Says About Him 8. Identify Style Reread lines 65-83.
Note Hemingway word choice, sentence structure, and use of dialogue. Why is this passage a good example of Hemingway style? Explain your answer, using evidence from the passage. Extension and Challenge 9. Creative Project: Drama Most of this story is told through dialogue between the father and son. With a partner, choose one of their conversations to act out. Use details from the scene to accurately portray the characters. Practice on your own, and then present the dialogue to the class. 10. Readers’ Circle With a small group, discuss what clues the story gives you about the relationship between the boy and his father.
Consider whether this experience is likely to affect their relationship in any way. If so, how? 473 Vocabulary in Context vocabulary practice Show that you understand the boldfaced words by deciding whether each statement is true or false. 1. If something is evidently true, it has been proven through a series f experiments. 2. A covey is a place where birds and small mammals go to spend the winter. 3. An epidemic generally affects a large number of people. 4. If you are detached from a situation, you are probably not very concerned about it. 5.
Tightened muscles around someone’s lips and Jaw are typical of a slack expression. Covey detached epidemic evidently slack vocabulary in writing Think of time when you misunderstood something important that someone else said. Write a paragraph describing what happened, using at least two vocabulary words. Here is a sample beginning. Example sentence At camp I thought I heard, “It’s time for nights out,” but I was evidently wrong. Vocabulary strategy: words for animal groups There are many names for groups of animals. Some, like the vocabulary word covey, are used mainly with one or two specific types of animals.
Others, like herd, are used when describing animals in certain categories, such as large animals that move or feed together (a herd of elephants, a herd of antelope). Knowing the correct word for an animal group can enrich both your reading and your writing. PRACTICE Match each numbered word for an animal group with the type of animal it is usually associated with. Refer to a dictionary if you need help. 1. Pride 2. Swarm 3. 4. 5. 6. Drove pack school flock a. Cattle b. Fish c. Wolves d. Birds e. Lions f. Bees vocabulary practice For more practice, go to the Vocabulary Center at Classroom. Mom. 474 Reading-writing Connection Increase your understanding of “A Days Wait” by responding to these prompts. Then complete the Grammar and Writing exercise. Writing prompts A. Short Response: Evaluate Characterization Hemingway wrote, “A writer should create living people; people not characters. ” Does Hemingway create real people in “A Days Wait”? Write a one-paragraph response, using the characters’ thoughts, words, speech patterns, and actions to support your opinion. B. Extended Response: Write a Letter Imagine how Chats would remember this day 20 years later.
Write a two- or three-paragraph letter from Chats in which he reminds his father about the misunderstanding and how it affected him. Self-check An effective evaluation will . .. Include a clear position statement use specific details and examples from the story that support the statement A creative response will … Summarize the events of the story show an understanding of how the boy felt that day rammer and writing. A compound subject made up of two or more subjects Joined by a conjunction, such as and, or, or nor.
When you write a sentence with a compound subject Joined by and, you should usually use a plural verb. When you write a sentence with a compound subject Joined by or or nor, use a verb that agrees in number with the subject closer to it. Original: Revised: Because Chats is constantly worrying, neither the capsules nor rest seem to help him. Because Chats is constantly worrying, neither the capsules nor rest seems to help him. LLC . 4 Demonstrate the mechanics of writing (e. . , quotation marks, commas at end of dependent clauses) and appropriate English usage (e. G. , pronoun reference).
PRACTICE Choose the verb form that agrees with each compound subject. 1. Parent’s and children sometimes (have, has) a problem communicating. 2. Often, the parent’s or the child (get, gets) confused about some information. 3. In the story, neither the father nor the boy (realize, realizes) the misunderstanding until later on. 4. Once they understand the problem, the boy and his father (relax, relaxes). For more help with subject-verb agreement with compound subjects, see pages ROR-ROR in the Grammar Handbook. A days wait 475 Reading for Information How Hemingway Wrote Informative Article What’s the Connection?
You’ve Just read a short story by Ernest Hemingway, an author whose style is so distinct and admired that writers often try to copy it. Now you will read an informative article that explains how Hemingway approached writing. Use with “A Days Wait,” page 468. Skill Focus: Distinguish Fact from Opinion An opinion is a statement of belief or feeling, such as “l think everyone should read Hemingway stories. ” A fact is a statement that can be proved, such as “Hemingway wrote 51 stories. When you read informative articles, it’s important to distinguish facts from opinions.
If you mistake an opinion for a fact, you run the risk of basing your conclusions on someone’s personal beliefs rather than on provable information. The opinions of experts can be good sources of information, but you should always know whether you are reading a fact or an opinion. As you read Bruce Rattan’s article, list the facts in one column and Rattan’s opinions in another. Use the tips on the chart to help you distinguish facts from opinions. RE. 1 Understand and analyze the differences in structure and purpose between arioso categories of informational materials (e. G. Textbooks, newspapers, instructional manuals, signs). RE. 6 Assess the adequacy, accuracy, and appropriateness of the author’s evidence to support claims and assertions, noting instances of bias and stereotyping. Fact or opinion? Is it a fact?
